Books, authors and all things bookish

Authors pick this world's most sci-fi cities

June 17, 2009 | 8:25
am

How is it possible that when Ursula K. LeGuin, China Miéville, Michael Moorcock and other writers were asked what real-life city -- on this world -- would be their choice for top science fiction or fantasy city, nobody said Los Angeles? Shouldn't our hodgepodge of cultures and languages, our massive size, funneling freeways, desert/mountain/seascape, sprawling ports and battle for clean air count for something? Did "Blade Runner" not make an impression?

It's more like an off-world colony than any place on
Earth. Architecture that consists largely of corrugated metal and concrete
(think Quonset huts), a dauntingly inhospitable landscape -- lava flows, cliffs,
glaciers, hot springs, immense waterfalls. Very few trees -- the vegetation in
places consists largely of lichen or moss, with grass in the central areas and
some stunted birch or conifers. Only one indigenous mammal, the arctic fox,
though a handful of others have been introduced; overall, quite a small biomass
though tons of birds. Fewer insects than anywhere else, excepting maybe the
Antarctic. Combine that with a vibrant (well, maybe not so vibrant since the
country went bankrupt), highly educated populace (highest literacy rates on the
planet) and a huge proportion of cutting edge artists/musicians/writers, and
you have a place that resembles Samuel R. Delany's Triton (Trouble on Triton) in real life.

The question was asked by the folks behind Shared Worlds, a two-week summer program in science fiction and fantasy for teens held at Wofford College in South Carolina.